The present invention relates to steering axles and pertains particularly to a power steering axle assembly for industrial trucks or the like.
Vehicles such as industrial trucks and the like must be very maneuverable in order to function efficiently. In order to have a high degree of maneuverability the vehicle must have a short turning radius, which means that the steerable wheels of the vehicle must turn as much as possible. One problem with vehicles having steerable wheels with a high degree of steer is that one or more of the steerable wheels normally scuff during the turn, which causes rapid wear of the tires of the vehicle and also imposes high stresses on the steering components of the vehicle.
The known prior art steering axles do not have the geometric arrangement to overcome this scuffing problem or the high stress component problem. The prior attempts to solve these problems have provided arrangements of very complex and expensive constructions.
The prior art is exemplified by the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,480,100, issued Nov. 25, 1969 to Gaulke; 3,768,585, issued Oct. 30, 1973 to Matteo; and 3,805,910, issued Apr. 23, 1974 to Hull.